What's Your Food Routine?

When I started using the food tracker on sparkpeople.com I realized there was protein in foods I didn't think had any, and it all adds up over the course of the day. It tracks all the vitamins and nutrients too, and I far exceed the RDA on practically all those. I eat mostly natural, or lightly processed foods.

Today I had 2500 calories. In terms of protein, the minimum goal was 75g and I finished with 109g. I got 10g from oven fries, 12g from roasted green beans, 6g from a homemade vegan parmesan cheese made from sesame seeds and nutritional yeast, 3g from sunflower seeds, 1g from baby carrots, 12g from hummus, 18g from unsweetened soy milk I drink with my tea, and 46g from two bean burritos.

I like the taste of everything I make. When I have a busy work week I try to keep food prep simple. I do a lot slow-roasting of vegetables. It's more difficult to screw them up that way, and they taste so much better. And I always have hummus and an assortment of colorful vegetables ready to eat. It's easy to make and very visually appealing. And of course, fruit is the ultimate fast food and requires minimal prep.

I'm not a college student either and do all my own cooking/food prep, but I can offer examples of what I typically eat. This isn't an exhaustive list as there is a huge diversity of plant food and my meals vary more than this, but these are just examples:

Breakfasts:

[*]mango or banana and whole almonds
[*]cooked grain (wild rice, oatmeal, oatbran, millet, etc), usually about 2 cups worth, with fresh berries or chopped apples and cinammon; I sometimes use a crockpot overnight for this

• chickpea flour omelet with salsa, nutritional yeast, leafy green like spinach or mustard greens; sometimes I have an orange with that
• tempeh, pineapple, and bok choy sauteed in pineapple juice or water along with ginger and garlic powder
• smoothie (usually with frozen banana, other frozen fresh fruit, protein powder, 2 cups of fresh leafy greens such as kale or collards, splash of plant milk but mostly water; sometimes in place of protein powder I use chia seeds
• mashed canned pumpkin, banana, and protein powder and/or carob or cocoa powder (I use about half a can of pumpkin for a serving)
• Beans on toasts (favorites are white beans and blackstrap molasses on whole wheat bread, or kidney beans and salsa on bread)
• for days when I will be doing all day canoeing, mountain biking, long hikes etc I like to start the day with a peanut butter and banana sandwich and a glass of plant milk

snacks and lunches I bring to work:

• soba noodles (egg free) with brocoli and black beans
• small container of homemade hummus and raw veggies to dip in it (such as cauliflower, broccoli, jicama, celery, carrots)
• all kinds of soups (white bean carrot puree, black bean and veggie, split pea, navy bean squash soup)
• rice cakes with peanut or sunflower butter
• homemade muffins
• mix of roasted pumpkin seeds with shell on and chopped dates
• oatmeal
• chickpea salad sandwich with vegan mayo
• homemade burrito with fat free refried canned pinto beans, tomato, lettuce, onion, Mexican spices, rice
• big garden salad with chickpeas added, and lots of veggies and even some fruit, and usually a tahini based salad dressing or balsamic vinaigrette
• energy bars: Larabar, Cliff, Rawvolution, Macrobar, or homemade energy bar
• tortilla with sunflower or peanut butter rolled up in it
• single serve plant milks or I bring a small jar with lid and some plant milk in it

Some typical dinners:

• baked potato with nutritional yeast/cashew "cheese" sauce and broccoli
• spaghetti with simmered tomato sauce and paste, veggies (zucchini, bell pepper, mushroom, onion), red lentils, and of course topped with vegan parmesan (blended almonds or cashews, nutritional yeast, pinch of lemon juice, garlic powder)
• Succatosh (kidney beans, lima beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, yellow squash, cumin spice, chili powder) all over some kind of rice
• quinoa or couscous with walnut pieces, onion, chopped dried or fresh apricot (depending on the season), pinch of maple syrup, maybe some roasted Brussels sprouts
• Split pea soup and homemade bannock bread
• crockpot baked beans with polenta and homemade or bagged coleslaw
• Veggie burger on a bun and roasted or baked sweet potato fries and a salad
• hard shell tacos with bulgar/lentil/tomato paste/taco seasoning mix for the "meat", lettuce, tomato, salsa and on the side I will make a simple chocolate pudding for dessert
• simmered black bean, sweet potato, and kale in coconut milk and curry powder
• scrambled potato (skin on), chickpeas, and veggies like yellow squash, bell pepper, carrots, celery etc. Lots of spices and sometimes even organic catsup
• pancakes (banana, lemon, chocolate, pumpkin, plain, buckwheat etc) with fruit compote on top and usually I will have several cups of leafy greens steamed on the side and marinaded maple tempeh "bacon" strips

Most of my meals can be made in twenty minutes or less. On Sundays when I am not working I spend an hour or two making stuff that takes a long time to make like a batch of wild rice or soak/cook dried beans so I have this stuff readily available during the week. I also make my five work lunches for the week on Sundays and pack them in individual containers or if it is a batch of soup I leave it in a very large container in the refrigerator. Then each morning I scoop out a serving and heat in the microwave and add to my thermos. In some cases I might make crockpot hot cereal which involves little more than adding grain, spices, and fruit and water/plant milk to the crockpot and turning it on. It is ready to go when I wake up. Even my chickpea flour omelets take ten minutes tops.

I don't know about school cafeterias, but at my local hospital cafeteria, I can usually find salads with beans, nuts/seeds, and lots of veggies that will provide plenty of protein. I can usually also find bagels (some have egg and some don't so watch for this) and hummus or peanut butter. They carry energy bars that are vegan, and soy milk. They also usually have fresh fruit, oatmeal/oats, dried fruits. I imagine if I lived in a dorm I would invest in a mini refrigerator and keep plant milks on hand, maybe some peanut butter and bread, fresh fruit etc. Canned beans are cheap and can be eaten without cooking. you can rinse them and then add salsa or spices or mix them with condiments etc for a snack or part of a meal. I've had chickpeas, peanut butter, and banana mixed together. It might also be helpful to gather some examples of vegetarian or vegan foods and bring them to the attention of the director of dining services and advocate for more plant based friendly foods. I did this with the Nutrition Services director of the local medical complex I work for, and was surprised at his willingness to work with me and add vegan friendly menu items and even label them as such.